Match Preview: Burnley vs Liverpool
Liverpool will hope to gain an early lead over Premier League rivals when they face Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon.
Last season’s top three all dropped points on the opening weekend, and Jurgen Klopp’s men will be hoping to increase that gap with a win against the Championship winners this weekend.
The Reds may have to do so without Sadio Mane, after he suffered a shoulder injury at training on Wednesday, but Daniel Sturridge is set to return after recovering from a hip problem.
James Milner is also likely to be available after missing the Reds’ victory against Arsenal on Sunday, but Mark Grujic looks set to remain sidelined.
Burnley – Back in the big time
After two unsuccessful stints previously, Burnley are back in the Premier League and hoping it will be third time lucky under the guidance of Sean Dyche.
“The Ginger Mourinho” was in charge last time the Clarets reached the top flight, but their 14/15 season ended in being demoted back to the Championship – the same fate dealt to Owen Coyle in the club’s first ever season in the Premier League five years previous.
But despite Burnley’s poor record in the big time – just 15 wins in 76 games – Dyche is again largely keeping faith in the side that earned promotion, with just three senior faces brought to the Turf Moor this summer – Nick Pope and Johan Ber Gudmundsson from Charlton Athletic and Steven Defour from Anderlecht.
After an opening day 1-0 loss to Swansea City, Dyche may need to stretch those purse strings further before the month is over to avoid an instant return back to the second tier once again come May.
Andre Gray will be key to any success the Clarets have this year after 26 goals in 41 appearances en route to the Championship title last season, and he is set to lead the line this weekend.
He’s likely to play up top alongside Sam Vokes, who – after 15 goals last term – starred for Wales in their summer heroics at Euro 2016.
Previous Meetings
Liverpool have won all four matches against Burnley during the Premier League era, without conceding a goal.
During their 14/15 stint in the top-flight, Brendan Rodgers’ side won 1-0 at Turf Moor, before a 2-0 win at Anfield.
And before that, Kenny Dalglish guided his team to consecutive 4-0 wins over the Lancashire side during 11/12.
But the most famous meeting between the two came in January 2005, which Burnley edged 1-0 thanks to a calamitous Djimi Traore own goal.
Squads
Burnley: Heaton, Lowton, Keane, Mee, Ward, Boyd, Marney, Jones, Arfield, Gray, Vokes, Kightly, Robinson, Jutkiewicz, Ulvestad, Berg Gudmondsson, Tarkowski, Darikwa, Defour.
Liverpool: Mignolet, Manninger, Clyne, Lovren, Klavan, Moreno, Matip, Stewart, Alexander-Arnold, Milner, Lallana, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Can, Grujic, Coutinho, Firmino, Sturridge, Origi